How To Make Carrot Patch Cupcakes

Last Updated on 13th August 2021 by Vicki

Hi everyone, today’s post is all about how to make these carrot patch cupcakes! They are so cute and make the perfect Easter treat. My girls loved pulling the carrots out of the soil! It’s true that I am completely loving my flowerpot cupcake cases. Last month I made my mum some succulent cupcakes for her birthday and this month I couldn’t wait to give these carrot patch cupcakes a go! If you want to take a look how I made the succulent cupcakes, then click here. If not, then read on to see how I made these cute Easter cupcakes! As usual, there is a list of all the items that I use to make them at the bottom of the page. If you would like to take a look at the list now click here to go straight to it.

Preparing My Orange Fondant

To make the fondant carrots I used Renshaw’s orange fondant, which I strengthened with CMC/Tylo Powder. Adding this to fondant helps to make it firmer when set. CMC powder is really handy if you need your fondant shapes to be that bit stronger. In this case, I needed to be able to push the carrots into the cupcakes without damaging them. I also knew that the fondant would absorb the moisture from the sponge and buttercream, so adding CMC powder would help to prevent the carrot from drooping and breaking as it is pulled out. You could, of course, use ready made orange modelling paste, but I didn’t have any at the time.

Adding The CMC/Tylo Powder

A little CMC powder goes a long way, so it will always be in your cupboard for when you need it! How much to add can vary on your make of fondant. As a guide, I mixed 180g of fondant with 1/4 teaspoon of CMC powder, which worked fine for me. You need to mix them together thoroughly and as it combines the fondant will start firming up. It’s a good idea to add the powder in small amounts until you see what’s the right amount for your brand of fondant. You’ll need to use the fondant immediately, as the powder will begin to take affect.

How To Make The Fondant Carrots

Take 30g of orange fondant and form it into a cone shape.

You could use a cake smoother or the palm of your hand to create the cone. It doesn’t have to be perfectly straight as no carrot is perfectly straight.

I used a blade modelling tool to mark lined indents around my carrot shape. I rolled the carrots as I created the indents. Doing this helps to keep the carrot rounded. If you don’t have a blade tool, you could use the side of a toothpick.

You should now have something similar to the carrot shape above.

Use a bone modelling tool to create a hole in the top of your carrot. Don’t just push the tool into the carrot, instead gently turn the carrot as you push inwards with the tool.

You should be left with a hole like this. The hole needs to be about 1cm deep.

Leave your carrots to harden for at least 2 hours, or longer if possible. I left mine on my flower foam pad as it’s breathable and aids drying. If you are able to, it’s a good idea to turn your carrots regularly to prevent the sides touching the surface becoming too flat.

Once hardened, you can add an extra effect to your carrot and make them look like they are covered in soil. To do this I simply brushed some cocoa into the indented lines. Put a small amount of cocoa powder onto a kitchen towel and gently apply it with a brush. Add a little at a time so you don’t apply too much.

Preparing The Cupcake

I used the recipe that Lakeland suggests to use with these flowerpot cupcake cases. I’ll leave a link to this at the bottom of the post. If you do use the recipe, then you may find that the cupcakes rise very well, like mine did! The chocolate sponge needs to be trimmed down before adding the buttercream. I used chocolate buttercream. My girls happily ate the cut offs!

Trim the sponge down to about 1cm from the top of the flowerpot case.

Next, use a knife to create a small hole in the middle of the cupcake. This hole is for the fondant carrot.

So I didn’t cut out too much sponge, I used the handle of a spoon to push the sponge and make the hole a little deeper and wider.

Adding The Chocolate Buttercream

Next, place a spoonful of buttercream on top of the cupcake.

Spread the buttercream all over the top of the cupcake. TOP TIP! If you find that the buttercream sticks to the knife, then warm the knife up by dipping it in some hot water. Dry the knife thoroughly, then spread the buttercream with the warm knife.

Your cupcake should now look like the image above.

Adding The Fondant Carrot

Take your fondant carrot and find the middle of the cupcake where the hole will be. Turn your carrot as you wind it down into the sponge.

To make it look more realistic, you can gently tip your carrot to one side, as can be seen above.

Oreo Crumb Soil

The soil is simply made out of crushed Oreo biscuits.

Place 4 broken Oreos into a blender.

Blend your Oreos until they look like soil.

Spoon the soil on top of the buttercream, all the way round the carrot. It’s a good idea to place your cupcake in bowl to catch the fallen soil.

Adding The Fondant Leaves

I used green fondant to make the carrot’s leaves. You can use ready made green fondant or colour white fondant green like I did. I coloured mine using PME Pea Green Food Colouring Paste. The paste is highly concentrated so you don’t need to use much. I add my colour with a toothpick so I don’t add too much at once. Because of this, one tub of food colouring paste lasts a long time!

Take a small piece of green fondant, slightly bigger than a marble and form it into a cone shape. Make sure the smaller end will fit into the hole you made at the top of your carrot.

Flatten the larger end of the cone with you finger.

Make a cut down the middle of the flattened part of the fondant.

Shape the leaves with your fingers, as can be seen above.

Place the leaves into the premade hole, using a little water to help it stick. I used my brush to apply the water. It’s a good idea to wipe the excess water off your brush with a kitchen towel before applying it to your carrot.

So that’s how to make these carrot patch cupcakes! They are perfect for Easter and would be great fun to make with kids.

Items Used To Make These Carrot Patch Cupcakes

Below is a list of items that I used to make these carrot patch cupcakes, including affiliate links to some of them.

• Renshaw Orange Fondant : https://tidd.ly/37s2IHR
• Green Fondant
• Shell and Blade Tool : https://tidd.ly/3CcGdVl
• Bone Modelling Tool : https://tidd.ly/3ikaCsM
• Flowerpot Muffin Cases : https://www.lakeland.co.uk/16187/6-Silicone-Flowerpot-Cupcake-Moulds
• Round ended spoon
• Knife
• Sable Brush : https://tidd.ly/3xtrKRz
• Cocoa Powder
• Lakeland Chocolate Flowerpot Cupcake Recipe : https://blog.lakeland.co.uk/recipe/succulent-cakes/

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